Terry Francona Opens Up About Reds' Ninth Inning Collapse in Opening Day Loss to Giants

The Reds suffered a tough loss on Opening Day.

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Ian Gibaut (79) is pulled by manner Terry Francona after giving up a go-ahead three-run home run to San Francisco Giants designated hitter Wilmer Flores (41) in the top of the ninth inning of the MLB Opening Day game between the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday, March 27, 2025. The Giants won 6-4. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Everything was going to plan on Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds until the ninth inning. After Hunter Greene pitched five solid innings, relievers Scott Barlow, Emilio Pagan, and Tony Santillan followed, and did not allow a hit in three innings of work.

In the ninth, to many people's surprise, Reds' manager Terry Francona elected to go with Ian Gibaut to try and preserve Cincinnati's 3-2 lead.

Gibaut was one of the last pitchers to secure a bullpen spot and appeared in just two games for Cincinnati in the 2024 season.

"That's why you play the game," Gibaut told reporters. "That's what I've done all my life. That's what I've been used to. Obviously, we will look for a different outcome next time, but stuff happens."

When Francona was asked about his decision, he mentioned he would have maybe done it differently if he had the chance.

"Some deep counts and he left a breaking ball that caught way too much of the plate," Francona told reporters on Thursday. "Going through the middle of the order and there were a lot of deep counts. We had used Pagan early and that was probably our other thought. We would have probably flip flopped those two."

Gibaut's teammates also supported him after the loss.

"Ian's a dog," Greene said. "I know fans might not want to hear it, but they need to believe that because he is. The last couple of years he's been with us, he's been in tight situations, and he's made it look easy getting out of them. This game is difficult. He wasn't able to do that today, but he's one of our best pitchers."

Despite the tough loss, Francona isn't worried about the mindset of his team.

"It's no fun losing in any way," Francona continued. "Losing late is hard, but if that is too much for us, I've got the wrong read on our guys."

The Reds look to bounce back against the Giants on Saturday at 4:10 ET at Great American Ball Park.